


pass it on

by perennials



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Sugi The Ass, is there a lil takagin or do my eyes deceive me, ships r a mess viewer discretion advised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perennials/pseuds/perennials
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school dramatics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	pass it on

**Author's Note:**

> ??????

" _Zura's in love with Takasugi,_ " Sakamoto whispers conspiratorially to him across the table. Takasugi's stuck with hall duty because of the fight he got into with the Yato siblings from the next class, and the wighead's having a heated debate with their literature teacher over that one extra mark he stubbornly insists he deserves, leaving Gintoki to keep Sakamoto company for the entire duration of lunch break. They chose the ice cream parlor, for obvious reasons.

Sakamoto’s convinced that Gintoki is absolutely clueless about the current state of matters between the four of them. The truth is, he's more than sufficiently informed.

" _I know_ ," Gintoki whispers back, knowingly.

Sneaking furtive glances at the other tables’ occupants, Sakamoto frowns suspiciously at him. " _How_?"

"I have _eyes_ , you doofus." Gintoki scowls, scuffing him over the head with his dessert spoon.

Sakamoto still looks mildly concerned, which ticks him off in more than a few ways, and Gintoki kind of wants to upend the whole damn table, but he's still only half an asshole at heart (or so he thinks), so he settles for a swift kick to Sakamoto's leg instead.

"Ahahaha, what was that for?" Sakamoto winces visibly, and Gintoki has to fight to keep the satisfaction off his face. The guy's got the emotional sensitivity and tact of a wooden plank— it pains him to admit that there's really nothing he can do about it.

"Your overwhelming stupidity."

Sakamoto laughs good-naturedly, then leans across the table and drops his voice back down to that annoying whisper. "No but seriously, what're you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing." Gintoki rests his chin in his hands and looks out the window. "Why should I do anything?"

"Because you li—"

A resounding crack rings throughout the ice cream parlor, and Sakamoto lets out a howl.

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

"You're in love with Zura," Gintoki says to Takasugi's sleeping form. He's curled up like a cat at the corner of everything under a thick pile of mismatched blankets; if Gintoki squints he can almost make out a head of dark purple hair, and when he lets his eyes go unfocused Takasugi blends quite seamlessly into the darkness of his surroundings. Had this been any other night, Gintoki would've been snoring like a freight train on the extra mattress on the floor or flattened against the wall on the bed, but he's been watching the digital clock on the table for the last hour or so with heavy-lidded eyes while Takasugi slept like a rock beside him.

Takasugi denies him a response, so Gintoki— to spite him, not so much because he wants an actual answer— grabs hold of a corner of the topmost blanket and pulls.

"He's got a massive crush on me, ya know."

The blankets whisper against the sheets as Takasugi shifts slightly in his (alleged) sleep. Gintoki tugs another blanket off impatiently. It's pitch black and covered in white scribbles— another sign that Takasugi never really grew out of his World Destruction™ phase; he snorts.

"Actually, I lied. He likes you now, I think," Gintoki corrects cheerfully.

As he retrieves a third blanket and wraps it around his own shoulders, Takasugi's fortress starts looking less like a lumpy, unidentifiable creature and more like a boy under a mountain of blankets.

He's been using Takasugi as a backrest for the better part of the night, and unfortunately with the removal of three layers he's now been demoted to the lowly position of armrest. Gintoki digs his elbow into his side with a little more force than necessary. "You're an asshat," he declares under his breath, when this too elicits no response.

With a mighty yank the last two blankets go flying off, revealing the skinny teen wound up like a ball of yarn underneath. Takasugi growls softly but doesn't open his eye.

Clearly miffed, Gintoki leans over to the shivering boy and clamps an arm around his wrist, wincing at the cool sensation. He presses his lips to his ear and whispers, "You're not gonna win him over like that, Takasugi."

The moment Gintoki finishes speaking Takasugi's eye flies open and he twists his body around Gintoki's, effectively pinning him underneath.

Takasugi's breath is a blizzard against his neck, his haughty (confident) smile a cold arrow through his heart. His good eye gleams in the stifling darkness. "I already have."

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

"I'm in love with you," Gintoki admits. It's a sharp, prickly realization that digs into his chest like a knife; he probably should’ve just kept his mouth shut, but since he’s already spoken, he might as well press on with the matter.

Zura quietly shuts the book in his hands and looks up to meet his gaze.

"But you're not. In love with me."

He neither acknowledges nor refutes Gintoki’s statement. Under the dim glow of the street lamp they play hide-and-seek with their shadows, Zura's flickering with the ebb and flow of white light and Gintoki’s swaying gently from side to side.

"Well, I'm sorry." Zura's lips quirk into an apologetic half-smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

" _Nonono_ it's— it's okay. I understand. It's my fault for thinking that, ya know... Yeah, anyway—" In a panic, Gintoki fumbles to reassure Zura/himself that he's not the one at fault. It’s a given, really, that his feelings would have changed (or disappeared altogether) some time in the last three years. He can’t remember the last time he caught Zura staring wistfully at him from out of the corner of his eye; it must have been centuries ago that he let him play with his hair without shrugging out of his reach.

Taking a deep breath, then another for good measure, Gintoki turns his face up to the sky.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Did you ever— like, maybe, just maybe— like _me_?"

Zura swallows hard, looks away. The sky stretches out above him like a never-ending canvas painted cobalt blue, freckled with brilliant, glowing gemstones. If he inhales a handful of quartz constellations maybe he will die and Gintoki will go away/be happy.

"No."

“Oh.”

They lapse into awkward silence.

Sakamoto pulls up on his bike before Gintoki can humiliate himself any further, and he hops on behind him a little too enthusiastically.

"You'll be okay?"

"That guy’ll be here soon, probably."

"Let me know if he doesn't turn up."

"...yeah."

He wants to say more, but Sakamoto salutes Zura and proceeds to pedal them furiously down the street without giving either boy the chance to respond.

Gintoki watches him grow smaller and smaller in the distance, a slim, majestic figure with a silver halo, until he blinks out of existence, lamppost and boy and all.

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

“He’s an idiot, you know?” Takasugi mutters, sucking furiously on his dark chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream and chocolate chips.

Sakamoto shifts uneasily in his seat and forces out a laugh. He’s aware that the death glare Takasugi’s giving him from across the table is actually meant for the _other_ permed bastard, but it doesn’t stop the shivers from creeping down his spine anyway.

“Like, seriously. If he’d just paid attention to his own dumb feelings and done something about them earlier, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. He brought this upon himself.”

Sakamoto picks half-heartedly at his chocolate banana split in mute agreement.

“And now that Zura’s gone and moved on— because he actually really did like Gintoki very very much, I shit you not— he’s acting like _he's_ the victim, going around being all mopey and angsty like the star of some shitty budget teenage drama.” Sakamoto feels a rush of pity for Takasugi’s straw— he’s grinding it viciously between his teeth like it’s something he wants to break, and yet seems quite oblivious to his own anger. “Honestly, fuck that guy!” Takasugi grumbles a little too loudly.

All heads in the diner turn to them for a fraction of a second. Sakamoto tries to fold himself into his seat like an origami rabbit with little success; Takasugi gives them the finger.

“He really does like Zura a lot though,” Sakamoto mumbles.

“I know,” Takasugi replies exasperatedly, “but he was always too unsure of himself to make a move. So he lost. The end. Too bad for him.”

There’s a pause. “And you didn’t? Lose, I mean.”

“Of course I didn’t.” Takasugi’s one good eye flashes a brilliant, harlequin green.

Sakamoto has a sudden epiphany.

“You’re in love with Zura, aren’t you?”

Takasugi shrugs his shoulders.

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

_Gintoki,_

 

_As you are likely aware by now, Katsura Kotarou is no longer the slightest bit interested in your sorry ass, and so as your responsible friend of seven years and his ~~lover~~ ~~special friend~~  boyfriend, I would like to politely ask you to fuck off. _

_Of course, this new development should not affect our friendship (unless you choose to let it do so) adversely in any way whatsoever, and as ~~Katsura Kotarou~~ ~~my babe~~ ~~my sunshine~~ ~~the wigheaded idiot~~ Zura sincerely wishes to continue his friendship with the three of us, I trust that you will not do anything stupid to fuck things up. _

_I will be at yours tomorrow after school with an ice-cream cake ~~and cleaver~~ at four p.m. sharp, should you be in need of someone to laugh at you until you feel better. It might also interest you to know that I offer shoulder-crying services at the incredibly affordable rate of $666/hour. _

 

_Yours,_

_Takasugi_

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

KINTOKI!! KINTOKI KINTOKI KINTOKI DONT LET BAKASUGI IN, HES GONNA KILL YOU!!!11!!! ITS TIME TO MOVE ON WITH LIFE AIGHT ILL BUY U ANOTHER CAKE AND 934824134 PARFAITS JUST DONT ACCEPT HIS OFFER ULL DIE

D I E

LIKE

REALLY

D I E

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

BINTOKI R UREADING THIS I S2G ILL CLIMB UPTHE WALL AND BREAK UR WINDOW IF U WONT REPLY

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

GINTOKI HE PUT POISON IN YOUR CAKE

 

◯ ◯ ◯

 

_Takasugi,_

 

_Sure, let yourself in._

 

_Gintoki_

 

**Author's Note:**

> what the heck was gin doing at sugi's at like 2 a.m. in the morning??  
> did gin die from cake poisoning or live to tell the tale??  
> why is sugi such an asshole??  
> find out in the next episode of dragon ball z  
> anyway thanks for readin, kudos and comments are cool and so are you, but comments are like the coolest of them all
> 
> have a good one


End file.
